Didier PetitSolo Cello

May 28, 2011

FREE PERFORMANCE: Saturday, May 28, 2011, 2:00pm

CHICAGO: An afternoon concert by the extraordinary French cellist Didier Petit. Petit is one of the great improvisors to emerge from Alan Silva’s Institute Art Culture Perception. As a youngster, Petit was inspired by Sun Ra and his Arkestra as well as Silva’s Celestial Communication Orchestra. Among many projects and ensembles, he has worked for over 15 years in the trio of bass clarinetist Denis Colin, and he is the leader of a quartet featuring Colin, saxophonist Daunik Lazro, and drummer Michael Nick. In addition to performing, Petit is the founder of In Situ, a label featuring the finest in French free music.

Didier Petit’s solo cello concert will take place in the context of CvsD’s current show of Richard Artschwager, which features 15 recent oil pastels. Anyone who knows Artschwager knows how undefinable his work is, and this batch confirms his status as one of the great mavericks of American art.